Mud guard for tandem axle assembly

ABSTRACT

The disclosure illustrates a mud guard skirt for a tandem axle assembly of a manure spreader. The skirt is positioned in such a manner that it removes foreign material from both the forward and aft wheels and in addition protects the axle assembly when manure is being loaded into the spreader from its side.

1 1 Jan. 30, 1973 [54] MUD GUARD FOR TANDEM AXLE [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS ASSEMBLY lnventors= Paul "1 Maria Stein; 2,560,3077/1951 Slemmons..............................305/l2 Thomas Fischer,Wapakoneta, 2,551,111 11/1950Danie|s...............................305/12X both of 0h1o 2,077,9194/1937 Engstrom........................30l/4l R x [73] Assignee: AvcoCorporation, Coldwater, Ohio [22] Filed: May 28,1971

[2i] Appl. No.: 147,760

Primary Examiner-- Philip Goodman Attorney-Charles M. Hogan and Gary M.Gron [57] ABSTRACT The disclosure illustrates a mud guard skirt for atan- [52] US. .....280/104.5 R, 305/l2 [51] int. 5/02 ,axle of a mamresprFader' The 58 Field of Search .....2s0/104.5 152 153 154.5 such thatmves materlal from both the forward and aft wheels and in additionprotects the axle assembly when manure is being loaded into the spreaderfrom its side.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAN 30 I973 INVENTORS.

PAUL A. LUTHMAN BY THOMAS R. FISCHER %WATTORNEYS.

MUD GUARD FOR TANDEM AXLE ASSEMBLY The present invention relates totandem axle assemblies and more particularly to a foreign material guardfor assemblies of this type.

The tandem axle assembly has long been used to support relatively heavyvehicles for ground movement. Recently developed manure spreaders withgreatly increased capacities necessitate a dual wheel tandem axleassembly. This is necessary to distribute the weight of the spreader andminimize the tendency for the spreader to sink in the field over whichthe spreader is pulled. Even with the dual wheel tandem axle assemblythe wheels tend to dig in somewhat, thus causing a substantial build-upof mud and other foreign material such as corn stalks, etc. on the sidesof the wheels. This foreign material tends to accumulate in the spacebetween the wheel and the spreader body. When the spreader is parkedoutside for the night very often the material becomes frozen and bindsthe axle assembly to such as extent that it may bend or break the partswhen the spreader is re-used.

Another problem arises because manure spreaders are loaded with manurefrom the sides. During loading there is a tendency for some of themanure to drop down on the axle assembly. This manure may freeze alsoand prevent proper operation of the spreader.

Therefore it is an object of the present invention to economically andeffectively present the accumulation of foreign material on a tandemaxle assembly.

The above ends are achieved by a means extending radially along the sideof wheel assemblies of a tandem axle unit adjacent their peripheries forremoving foreign material accumulated on their inner facing sides duringground movement.

The above and other related objects and features of the presentinvention will be apparent from a reading of the description of thedisclosure shown in the accompanying drawing and the novelty thereofpointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side view of a manure spreader and tandem axleassembly with which the present invention may be used;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view taken on line 33 of FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a manure spreader comprising agenerally rectangular body having side walls 12 (only one of which isshown) connected by a bottom wall 14. The walls 12 and 14 form a boxlikestructure in which manure is placed for transfer to a spreadingmechanism 16 by a conveyor 15. The conveyor is driven by the spreadingmechanism 16 which receives its input from a suitable source. The rateof operation of the conveyor is controlled from an operator station viaa rod 18 extending longitudinally along the wall 12 to the spreadingmechanism 16. The details of the conveyor 15 and the spreading mechanism16 are not discussed to simplify and assist in the understanding of thepresent invention. For a detailed description of such a mechanismparticularly suitable for this type of spreader see U.S. Pat. No.3,430,818 in the name of Lawrence J. Vagedes et al., entitled FeedControls for Material Unloaders, of common assignment with the presentinvention.

The manure spreader 10 is supported for ground movement by a tandem axleassembly which comprises stub axles 20 extending laterally from bothsides of the spreader body 10 and pivotally mounted to it by suitablebearing assemblies 22. A spreader tie bar 24 is secured to the stub axle20 and extends in a forward and aft direction relative to the manurespreader 10. The forward end of the tie bar 24 has a spindle 26 on whicha forward wheel assembly 28 is journaled. The aft end of the tie bar hasa spindle 30 on which an aft wheel assembly 32 is journaled.

It is noted that the distance A between spindle 26 and the stub axle 20is greater than the distance B between the spindle 30 and stub axle 20.This is done to place more of the vehicle weight on the aft wheelassembly 32 than on the forward wheel assembly 28. This permits theforward wheel assembly 28 to ride up over obstacles and muddy terrain toreduce the force necessary to pull the spreader. In addition, the stubaxle 20 is offset below a line which extends between spindles 26 and 30to lower the center of gravity of the spreader and stabilize it.

A skirt 34 having an upper downwardly inclined panel 36 and a lowergenerally vertical panel 38 is secured to the side wall 12 by screws 40extending through a flange 42. A laterally extending aft flange 44extends inward from the aft end of skirt 34 and is secured to the sidewall 12 by screw 48 extending through a flange 46. The forward end ofskirt 34 is secured to side wall 12 by screws 58 extending through aflange 56. An opening 47 is provided in flange 46 to clear the controlrod 18.

The panel 38 of skirt 34 extends down over the outer facing side of tiebar 24 and is held against it for relative sliding movement by rod 51and V-shaped braces 49. A recess 50 in panel 38 receives the outerportion of stub axle 20.

The skirt 34 has forward and aft recesses 52 and 54, respectively, whichare in line with the arcs that spindles 26 and 30 make when the tie bar24 is pivoted. These recesses are shaped to accommodate the maximumanticipated pivoting of tie bar 24.

During movement of the manure spreader 10 along the ground andparticularly under field conditions, there is a tendency for mud andother foreign material to be collected on the wheel assemblies 28 and32. The foreign material tends to be flung from the ground contact areaof the wheels and from their outer sides by centrifugal force. However,the foreign material tends to stay on the inner sides of the wheel neartheir periphery. The flange 44 of skirt 34 removes material from theinner side of the aft wheel assembly 32 near its periphery, as shown inFIG. 3, and the panels 38 and 36 deflect the material from the axleassembly. The material on forward wheel assembly 28 is removed by thebottom portion of tie bar 24 and deflected from the axle assemblies bythe panels 38 and 36 of the skirt 34. As particularly evident in FIG. 1,both the tie bar 24 and the flange 44 are positioned so that materialremoved by them falls to the ground by gravity. The panel 38 of skirt 34is positioned to define at least a constant clearance relative to thewheel assemblies 32 and 28 and preferably an increasing clearance, asshown particularly in FIG. 3. This prevents the wedging of foreignmaterial between the panel 38 and the side walls of the wheels whichcould cause increased friction.

The triangular support 49 and the bar 51 maintain the panel 38 againsttie bar 24 while still permitting pivoting displacement of the tie bar24. The downwardly inclined panel 36 prevents any material from fallingdown onto the axle assembly and to the control bar 18. This particularlyprevents a dropping of material on these assemblies when the manurespreader is being loaded from the side directly over the wheel assembly.

The unequal lengths of the spindles from the pivot of the stub axleenable the spreader to traverse a muddy field without bogging down. Inaddition, the foreign material removal by the tie bar 24, flange 44 andskirt 34 prevents build-up of foreign material on the inside of thewheels. This in turn insures that there is no material on the tandemaxle assembly that can freeze overnight and prevent proper operation thenext working day. I

While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.-

Having described the invention what is claimed as novel and desired tobe secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A vehicle comprising:

a body;

a tandem axle assembly extending laterally from both sides of said body;

forward and aft wheel assemblies journaled on said tandem axle on bothsides of said body supporting said vehicle for ground movement; meansextending radially along the side of each wheel assembly adjacent itsperiphery and in 7 between the wheel assemblies and the body forremoving foreign material accumulated on the sides of said wheelassemblies during ground movement; and

a skirt positioned over each of the tandem axle assemblies, said skirtextending from said foreign material removing means and having at leasta constant clearance relative to the side of the wheel assemblies,thereby preventing the wedging of blies by gravity.

3. A vehicle as in claim 1 wherein said skirt comprises an upper panelinclined downwardly away from the sides of said body and a lower panelextending downward generally vertically whereby the lower panelmaintains at least said constant clearance between the skirt and thesides of the wheel.

4. A vehicle as in claim 1 wherein:

said tandem axle assembly comprises: a stub axle extending laterallyfrom both sides of said body and pivotally mounted with respect thereto;a tie bar mounted to said stub axle; and fore and aft wheel spindles forjournaling said fore and aft wheel assemblies to said tie bar;

said skirt extends over and abuts the outer side of said tie bar; andsaid skirt has recesses therein for accommodating the maximumanticipated displacement of said fore and aft wheel assemblies duringpivoting of said tie bar.

5. A vehicle as in claim 4 wherein:

said aft foreign material removing means comprises a flange extendingradially inward from the aft edge of said skirt in such a direction thatmaterial removed thereby falls to the ground by gravity; the bottomportion of said skirt abuts said tie bar to form the foreign materialremoving means for said forward wheel assembly, said tie bar beingpositioned so that material removed thereby falls to the ground. 6. Avehicle as in claim 1 wherein said tandem axle assembly comprises:

stub axles extending laterally from both sides of the body and pivotallymounted with respect thereto;

tie bars extending forward and aft and mounted to said stub axles forpivotal movement relative to said body; and

wheel spindles mounted adjacent the forward and aft ends of said tiebars for journaling said wheel assemblies to said tie bar, the forwardwheel spindle being positioned a greater distance from the pivot pointof the stub axle than the aft wheel spindle whereby the decreased weightapplied to the forward wheel assembly permits the wheel assemblies toride over ground obstructions.

7. A vehicle as in claim 6 wherein the pivot point of the stub axle isoffset downward from a 'line drawn between the forward and aft wheelspindles.

1. A vehicle comprising: a body; a tandem axle assembly extendinglaterally from both sides of said body; forward and aft wheel assembliesjournaled on said tandem axle on both sides of said body supporting saidvehicle for ground movement; means extending radially along the side ofeach wheel assembly adjacent its periphery and in between the wheelassemblies and the body for removing foreign material accumulated on thesides of said wheel assemblies during ground movement; and a skirtpositioned over each of the tandem axle assemblies, said skirt extendingfrom said foreign material removing means and having at least a constantclearance relative to the side of the wheel assemblies, therebypreventing the wedging of foreign material between the skirt and theside of the wheel assemblies.
 1. A vehicle comprising: a body; a tandemaxle assembly extending laterally from both sides of said body; forwardand aft wheel assemblies journaled on said tandem axle on both sides ofsaid body supporting said vehicle for ground movement; means extendingradially along the side of each wheel assembly adjacent its peripheryand in between the wheel assemblies and the body for removing foreignmaterial accumulated on the sides of said wheel assemblies during groundmovement; and a skirt positioned over each of the tandem axleassemblies, said skirt extending from said foreign material removingmeans and having at least a constant clearance relative to the side ofthe wheel assemblies, thereby preventing the wedging of foreign materialbetween the skirt and the side of the wheel assemblies.
 2. A vehicle asin claim 1 wherein said foreign material removing means is positioned sothat the material so removed drops away from the wheel assemblies bygravity.
 3. A vehicle as in claim 1 wherein said skirt comprises anupper panel inclined downwardly away from the sides of said body and alower panel extending downward generally vertically whereby the lowerpanel maintains at least said constant clearance between the skirt andthe sides of the wheel.
 4. A vehicle as in claim 1 wherein: said tandemaxle assembly comprises: a stub axle extending laterally from both sidesof said body and pivotally mounted with respect thereto; a tie barmounted to said stub axle; and fore and aft wheel spindles forjournaling said fore and aft wheel assemblies to said tie bar; saidskirt extends over and abuts the outer side of said tie bar; and saidskirt has recesses therein for accommodating the maximum anticipateddisplacement of said fore and aft wheel assemblies during pivoting ofsaid tie bar.
 5. A vehicle as in claim 4 wherein: said aft foreignmaterial removing means comprises a flange extending radially inwardfrom the aft edge of said skirt in such a direction that materialremoved thereby falls to the ground by gravity; the bottom portion ofsaid skirt abuts said tie bar to form the foreign material removingmeans for said forward wheel assembly, said tie bar being positioned sothat material removed thereby falls to the ground.
 6. A vehicle as inclaim 1 wherein said tandem axle assembly comprises: stub axlesextending laterally from both sides of the body and pivotally mountedwith respect thereto; tie bars extending forward and aft and mounted tosaid stub axles for pivotal movement relative to said body; and wheelspindles mounted adjacent the forward and aft ends of said tie bars forjournaling said wheel assemblies to said tie bar, the forward wheelspindle being positioned a greater distance from the pivot point of thestub axle than the aft wheel spindle whereby the decreased weightapplied to the forward wheel assembly permits the wheel assemblies toride over ground obstructions.